Multitasking
Larger computer screens are always helpful when doing real work with the electronic health record.
Increased screen real estate allows for more multi-tasking with the patient’s chart.
On paper it’s really easy to multi-task. In fact this is the norm. For instance to write a note while viewing labs, reading old notes, and writing orders all at the same time. Unfortunately it is painful to do any of this in most medical records.
Multi-Monitor-Setups
Many existing clinical work spaces are already elbow to elbow and do no have enough horizontal space to install two screens side-by-side.
A work-around is to stack the monitors vertically.
Below is not a photo of white coated medical residents working at computers, but Wall Street traders.
Vertically stack monitors, from wall street. Photo from SRSV - Systemic Risk and Systemic Value, Sept 2014
Counter-argument: One argument against installing larger monitors or double screens is that most EHRs are so poorly designed that they are unable to adapt to the increased screen real estate. ….unfortunately thats true.
On one of the leading pathetic EHRs, Allscripts, the way I got around the inability to multitask was by opening the software multiple times and logging into each copy.